History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1859-1900)

Australian rules football, also known as Australian football and known colloquially as Aussie rules, was first organised in Victoria in 1859 when its first rules were written by the Melbourne Football Club. By 1900, it had become the most popular sport in Victoria.

(South Melbourne was undefeated in 1886 until playing the undefeated Geelong in a special game to determine the Premiership (see below: "The Game of the Century").

In 1877, Carlton became the first Victorian football team to play in NSW. They played two games against Waratah, winning one under Victorian rules and losing a rugby game.

In 1886 there were as many as 18 VFA Clubs. The VFA decided to reduce the numbers and in 1888 they merged the Williamstown Football Club with the South Williamstown Football Club, merged the St. Kilda Football Club with the original Prahran Football Club, and dumped the three Ballarat clubs (Ballarat, Ballarat Imperials, South Ballarat) [these clubs then became the base of a local Ballarat League] . In 1889, the Melbourne Football Club and the original University Football Club were also merged.

By 1896, there were 13 teams in the VFA Senior competition. The ladder in that year was:

Further reading

The Origins of Australian rules football
History of Australian rules football
Australian Rules Football
Victorian Football League
Victorian Football Association
List of Australian rules football clubs by date of establishment
Champion of the Colony
Australian rules football in Victoria, Australia

Footnotes

References

*Atkinson, Graeme: "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Australian Rules Football ...", 1982, The Five Mile Press, Melbourne. ISBN 0 86788 009 0.

*Blainey, Geoffrey (1990): "A Game Of Our Own", Information Australia, Melbourne. ISBN 0 949338 78 8.

*Caruso, Santo; Fiddian, Marc; Main, Jim: "Football Grounds of Melbourne", 2002, Pennon Publishing, Melbourne. ISBN 1 877029 02 5.

*Fiddian, Marc: "Seagulls Over Williamstown", 2003, Williamstown Football Club, Melbourne.

*Hutchison, Garrie; Ross, John; et al: "The Clubs. The Complete History of Every Club in the AFL/VFL", 1998, Penguin Books, Melbourne. ISBN 0 85550 482 X.

*Mancini, Anne & Hibbins, Gillian (1987): "Running With the Ball", Lynedoch Publications, Melbourne. ISBN 0 7316 0481 4.

*Murray, John (editor) [various authors] : "Melbourne Football Club - Since 1858 - An Illustrated History", 2008, GSP Books, Melbourne.

*Power, T.P.: "The Footballer", 1875, Melbourne.

*Rodgers, Stephen: "Tooheys Guide to Every Game Ever Played", 1983, Lloyd O'Neil Pty Ltd, Melbourne. ISBN 0 670 87858 8.